Evaluation of Cross Immunity and Histopathological Findings in Experimentally Infected BALB/c Mice with Neospora caninum and Besnoitia caprae
Background: Caprine besnoitiosis is an economically important disease of goats. Neospora caninum, another coccidian parasite of worldwide distribution, infects several animal species and is a major cause of abortion in cattle. Combined infections of N. caninum and Besnoitia caprae can occur in geo-g...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Tehran University of Medical Sciences
2013-03-01
|
| Series: | Iranian Journal of Parasitology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/view/519 |
| Summary: | Background: Caprine besnoitiosis is an economically important disease of goats. Neospora caninum, another coccidian parasite of worldwide distribution, infects several animal species and is a major cause of abortion in cattle. Combined infections of N. caninum and Besnoitia caprae can occur in geo-graphical areas endemic for both species of parasite in goats. This experiment was conducted to in-vestigate the possible cross-immunity between these two infections in experimentally infected BALB/c mice.
Methods: Forty BALB/c mice were divided into four equal groups. The mice of Groups 1 and 4 were inoculated with 1×106 live virulent tachyzoites of N. caninum (NC-1), while animals of Groups 2 and 3 were inoculated with sterile tissue culture medium. Each mouse in Groups 1 and 2 was chal-lenged 28 days later with 1×106 live virulent bradyzoites of B. Caprae (BC-1).
Results: Following the challenge, the mice in Groups 1 and 2 showed 100% morbidity and 100% mortality within 9 days post infection, while all the animals of Groups 3 and 4 remained alive. The dead animals were necropsied. The survivors (mice in Group 3 and 4) were euthanized 9 days after inoculation and the gross and histopathological lesions in different organs were investigated.
Conclusion: Immunization and challenge experiments with lethal dose of B. caprae in the highly sus-ceptible BALB/c mice showed no cross-protection between N. caninum and B. caprae. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1735-7020 2008-238X |